The Selected Levis – Larry Levis
Larry Levis’ work, which is aflame with possibility, continually frees my imagination and reminds me that poetry is, in his words, a condition of the spirit.
Translations of the Gospel Back into Tongues – C.D. Wright
As the title suggests, there is a deep mystery within these poems, as brick by brick Wright builds a bridge to the ether of our world.
Moon Woke Me Up Nine Times – Basho; Translated by Kevin Young
These haiku, with their distinct clarity, remind me to pay attention as I move through the everydayness of everyday.
Look – Solmaz Sharif
This is my favorite book to teach. It has sparked some of the most important conversations about language I have ever had the honor of being a part of.
The Complete Poems – Elizabeth Bishop
At twenty, when I first began writing, I wrote in the margins of this book, “Details build the world.”
Andrés Cerpa is the author of Bicycle in a Ransacked City: An Elegy (2019) from Alice James Books.